2004 Lamborghini Gallardo. 6 Speed Manual. 14k Miles. Black Interior. San Diego on 2040-cars

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Performance doesn't matter anymore, it's all about the feel

We've just had a week of supercars and high-end EVs revealed. Many of them boast outrageous performance specs. There were multiple vehicles with horsepower in the four-figure range, and not just sports cars, but SUVs with 0-60 mph times under 3.5 seconds. And it's not just a rarified set of supercar builders, comparatively small tuners are also building this stuff. Going fast is easy nowadays and getting easier. So what will distinguish the greats from the wannabes? It's all about how a car feels. This may seem obvious. "Of course it matters that a car should have good steering feel and a playful chassis!" you say. "Why are you being paid for this stuff?" But a lot of automakers have missed the memo. This past week I spent some time in a BMW M4 Competition convertible, and it's a perfect example of prioritizing performance over experience. It boggles my mind how a company can create such dead and disconnected steering; the weight never changes, there's no feel whatsoever. The chassis is inflappable, but to a fault, because it doesn't feel like anything you're doing is difficult or exciting. The car is astoundingly fast and capable, but it feels less like driving a car and more like tapping in a heading on the Enterprise-D. I also happened to drive something of comparable performance that was much more enjoyable: a Mercedes-AMG GT. It was a basic model with the Stealth Edition blackout package, and even though it had a twin-turbo V8 instead of a six-cylinder, it only made 20 more horsepower. The power wasn't the big differentiator, it was (say it with me) the feel. While not the best example, the steering builds resistance as you dial in lock, giving you a better idea of what's happening up front. Pulses and vibrations come back to you as you move over bumpy pavement in corners. The chassis isn't quite as buttoned down, either, providing a little bit of body roll that tells you you're pushing it. It's also easier to feel when the car is wanting to understeer or oversteer, and how your throttle and steering inputs are affecting it. The whole thing is much more involving, exciting and fun. 2021 Mercedes-AMG GT Stealth Edition View 8 Photos That's also to say nothing of the Merc's sounds. That V8 is maybe not the best sounding engine, but its urgent churn through the opened-up exhaust gets your heart racing. It also seems like it's vibrating the whole cabin, so you feel it as much as you hear it.

Lamborghini updated the Urus for 2021, now's your last chance to win it

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change. No donation or payment is necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. 641 horsepower. 0–60 in just over 3 seconds. A top speed of 190 miles per hour. All of those numbers sound impressive in a performance car, but in a five-seat SUV theyÂ’re bonkers. That kind of performance is what you get when youÂ’re behind the wheel of the 2021 Lamborghini Urus. Normally one of these super-SUVs will cost you right around a quarter of a million dollars, but for those of us who donÂ’t have that kind of cash, just head on over to Omaze, where theyÂ’re giving away a Urus, along with $20,000 in cash, with all taxes and delivery fees covered. Win a 2021 Lamborghini Urus and $20,000 - Enter at Omaze HereÂ’s what we said about the Urus when we first got behind the wheel: “With a full day of track, street and dirt driving ahead of us, our first impressions arrive hard and fast at the 2.54-mile Vallelunga circuit near Rome. It feels strange to sit behind the wheel of a Lamborghini with a turbocharged V8 and room for five, but the whip-like acceleration from a standstill leaves you neck-strained and satisfied. This thing is wickedly quick, with a claimed 0-to-62-mph time of 3.6 seconds. It might be quicker than that in the real world. That's speedier than a Gallardo, which isn't saddled with a 4,843-pound curb weight. Drop the car's numerical mass from your mind, and Urus also feels shockingly nimble in corners. Aided by active roll stabilization, an air suspension system that can lower the car up to 1.6 inches, active damping, torque vectoring, and sticky Pirelli Corsa rubber, the Urus manages to dance its way breezily through corners despite its relative heft. The standard 10-piston carbon ceramic brakes deliver phenomenal stopping power, though it sometimes felt like there was some additional brake assist that was boosting the slowdown efforts, making it difficult to finely modulate brake release during corner entry. “Dip the throttle and 641 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque gets laid down with a whole lot of help from the computers; there are some tight corners at Vallelunga that would have yielded understeer from a more analog vehicle, but the Urus's all-wheel drive, four-wheel steering and torque vectoring enable a point-and-shoot approach at the track.

Road & Track goes inside Lamborghini's Sant'Agata engine factory

While it's fair to think that the Lamborghini factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese is a place where mustachioed Italian sorcerers weave spells into hypercars, the truth is sadly far less magical (although the results are just as impressive). Road & Track took a peek behind the curtain and toured the home of Lamborghini's engine works, where the 691-horsepower thumper from the Aventador is bolted together. Not only is it an interesting look inside the facility, R&T's host provides a great contrast with the current facility and its low-tech past.